Patriarch Rai and L’Œuvre d’Orient Delegation Hold Talks

Maronite Patriarch Cardinal Bechara Boutros Rai received at the patriarchal headquarters in Bkerke Vincent Gelot, director of L’Œuvre d’Orient’s office in Lebanon and the Middle East, and an accompanying delegation, in the presence of Mother Marie-Antoinette Saadeh, Superior General of the Maronite Sisters of the Holy Family, and lawyer André Bassil. Discussions focused on the challenges facing Catholic institutions in Lebanon, including schools, universities, hospitals and social service centers, and the urgent need to support them amid worsening conditions threatening their operations. Gelot stressed that L’Œuvre d’Orient was established to assist institutions and vulnerable communities, affirming the organization’s commitment to ensuring people in need can access essential services and live with dignity despite regional instability and its repercussions for Lebanon and neighboring countries, while Mother Saadeh emphasized that Catholic institutions have long been a source of hope and support for successive generations and warned against weakening their humanitarian, social, cultural and educational roles.